The present invention relates to education and, more particularly, to educational learning aids. Specifically, one embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus and method to aid learning a language. More specifically, one embodiment in accordance with the present invention helps a person to learn a new language by providing a format which compares units of thought, or xe2x80x9cchunks,xe2x80x9d of a xe2x80x9cstudy textxe2x80x9d for the new language to be learned with a xe2x80x9cteach textxe2x80x9d for a known language presented in a xe2x80x9cbifocalxe2x80x9d arrangement and by providing a system to easily create and distribute such xe2x80x9cbitextualxe2x80x9d presentations via a computer network, such as the Internet, thereby enabling the presentations to be published on a variety of media, including electronic displays and/or paper publications, such as magazines and books.
In an era of globalization, the learning of new or xe2x80x9cforeignxe2x80x9d languages is becoming increasingly useful. Conversing in a common language can help people to communicate and to exchange valuable information in an evolving multicultural and global society.
Learning a new language is a challenging task, requiring a student to understand a wide variety of new words, phrases, idioms, and grammatical constructs, all of which are framed within the context of an unfamiliar culture. Various learning aids are known to help learn a new language, but known learning aids have various shortcomings.
Typically, when studying a text in a new language, a student often uses a dictionary to look up the meaning of new words and phrases. However, due to variable slangs and idioms, these dictionaries at times provide misleading literal interpretations, unsuited to the context of a particular usage of a word or phrase.
Additionally, students often use xe2x80x9cparallel textxe2x80x9d translations. Parallel text typically provides a foreign text on one page, with a corresponding translation on an opposite or facing page in a printed book, or can also be represented in two separate columns, typically on the same page. A parallel text presentation permits a student to compare a foreign text with a translated text in a known language.
Parallel text helps a student learn parts of a new language, allowing him or her to compare a text to its translation, but can be difficult to use. The student, when faced with a new language usage she or he does not understand, is forced to stop at the new usage, refer to the understood text, find the corresponding word or phrase within the corresponding paragraph, then return to the text of the language being learned, find the location of the usage in question, and then apply the corresponding translation within that context.
Several presentations have attempted to streamline this cumbersome approach by offering a dual text format which locates a supplementable foreign text conveniently adjacent to an explanatory translation text. As evidenced by the prior art, such dual text presentations are typically limited to translations of individual words, rather than interrelated groups of words.
The problem with these dual text presentations is that, while a reader intends to focus on the foreign text, his or her eyes are likely to stray to the adjacently provided translation text. Consequently, a student habitually relies on this conveniently located translation text, rather than effectively learning the foreign text.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,011 to Cook accurately portrays the problem inherent in typical dual text presentations. An interlinearly arrayed presentation of a supplementable foreign text and an explanatory translation text is disclosed, with the translation text invisible to the human eye, unless exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light, requiring the use of a special flashlight.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,376 to Krass discloses a superimposed display of foreign text and translation text, each printed in a distinct color of ink. To make either text independently distinguishable to the human eye requires the use of special separate filters.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,275,569 and 5,486,111 to Watkins disclose a parallel text presentation combined with a dual text presentation, which serves to compare the variable grammar rules between languages. Four presentations are required, namely: a text from a first language; a word-for-word translation to a second language; a grammatically correct translation to the second language; and from this grammatically correct translation, a word-for-word translation back to the first language. While this wide variety of translations may help a beginning student analyze different grammatical constructions between languages, word-for-word translations restrict a translator""s ability to interpret interrelated words according to the context of their usage. As students move beyond an introductory level, such word-for-word translations become less helpful. Also, although located conveniently below each word of the grammatically correct foreign source text, individual word-for-word translations often require more letters or characters, forcing disruption in the normal flow of the source text, making a dual text presentation an unsuitable solution for longer writings. In addition, the convenient proximity of the translation text information to the foreign text does not address the problem of focusing the student""s attention on the foreign text to be learned.
Consequently, although some improvements to parallel text and dual text presentations have been attempted, they either require the use of special accessories, such as ultraviolet flashlights or color filters, or else they are restrictive beginners"" techniques, severely limited by the narrow scope of isolated word-for-word translations which can be insensitive to variable interpretations of words or groups of words, according to their context.
None of these known techniques provides an approach to combine a xe2x80x9cstudy textxe2x80x9d and a xe2x80x9cteach text,xe2x80x9d which relate specifically associated units of thought, or xe2x80x9cchunks of meaningxe2x80x9d simply referred to as xe2x80x9cchunks,xe2x80x9d between the two texts, and then presenting the associated chunks of text xe2x80x9cbifocally,xe2x80x9d or upon distinctly separate focal planes, thereby allowing a student to easily focus on the study text, while explicitly forcing her or him to refocus when in need of explanatory information supplied by the teach text.
None of these known techniques provides a method to relate the chunk of study text to its associated chunk of teach text when a selected chunk of the study text is interrupted by a line break, or continuation of an idea or phrase on a subsequent line of text, as forced by a limited width of a text column within a given medium of presentation.
None of these known techniques provides any approach to automate the time-consuming and repetitive task of formatting such bitextual presentations using a computer and a word-processing or page-layout program.
None of these known techniques provides any approach to use a computer program to automatically separate a study text into chunks, which can in turn be associated with chunks of teach text.
None of these known techniques provides a method to associate each meaningful chunk of study text with its specifically related chunk of teach text, and store such associations as records in computer memory, in specific locations which allow various computer programs to locate and process dual text, bitextual, or other such presentations automatically.
Nor do any of these known techniques provide a computer program, and authoring interface, offering translators and educators of various languages a system to easily create a bitextual presentation, distribute such a presentation over a global computer network, such as the Internet, and account for the usage of the presentation.
The known prior art techniques do not accomplish the objectives and advantages afforded by the various embodiments of the present invention.
One objective of the present invention is to provide means to position each associated chunk of teach text in a consistently juxtaposed adjacent relationship with respect to its associated chunk of study text, thereby eliminating the need to search for a translation, as is required in the use of parallel text.
An additional objective of the present invention is to provide means to present the texts bifocally, or to explicitly distinguish the presentation of the study text from the teach text, through manipulation of distinct sizes and/or colors for the separate texts, thereby limiting the student""s ability to focus on the teach text, and thus encouraging the student to focus on the study text, thereby removing a significant limitation of dual text presentations.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide means for the student to control the legibility of the teach text, simply by adjusting the focus of her or his eyes on the bitextual, bifocal presentation.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide means to create effective bitextual presentations which requires no special apparatus, such as UV flashlights or filters, as the conspicuous presentation of the study text appears in outstandingly visible format when compared to the faint presentation of the teach text, thereby forcing the student to actively shift his or her focus when desiring the explanatory information contained in the teach text, thus preventing the student""s eye from straying to and depending upon the teach text, thereby assisting the student to effectively learn the study text.
In addition, an objective of the present invention is to provide means to present study text sources of any length in a normal, readable format, as the reduced size of the teach text does not force arbitrary gaps or unnatural spaces to appear in the study text.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a computer program and authoring interface, offering translators and educators of various languages the ability to easily create bitextual presentations, and distribute and exchange them via a computer network, such as the Internet.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a method to allow educators and translators to use any basic word processing program and a database on a computer to associate a specific chunk of supplementable study text with individually related explanatory teach text, thereby allowing various computer programs to locate and access these associations, and thus produce bitextual presentations, according either to the techniques described in the prior art, or preferably according to the bitextual, bifocal presentation in accordance with the present invention.
Still another objective of the present invention is to provide means to relate the teach text to the study text when a chunk of meaning is interrupted by a line break, or a need to continue the study text on a subsequent line, due to special limitations inherent in the selected medium of presentation.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide means to effect a presentation specifically tailored for a student learning a language embodied in the study text. Where parallel text offers a cumbersome learning tool for students of either of the languages presented, the present invention more effectively focuses on the particular needs of the student familiar with the language embodied in the teach text, while gradually learning new language embodied in the study text.
Accordingly, one embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus and method for displaying dual texts in a manner to facilitate language learning, by presenting a highly visible study text, divided into individual units of thought, or chunks of meaning, which are preferably formatted in association with less visible units of a teach text, provided in proximity, preferably upon a separate focal plane, thus effecting a bitextual, bifocal presentation. The apparatus and method clearly relate the study text and the teach text, associating their individually related chunks of meaning, storing these associations in computer memory, preferably as xe2x80x9c.txtxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cUnicode equivalentxe2x80x9d files, which, when organized into folders, allow computer programs to access these associations and automatically produce bitextual, preferably bifocal, presentations. These presentations can preferably be accessed by users over a computer network, such as the Internet, as well as printed on paper and distributed in books and magazines, and the like.